MARION — In an age of digital handheld devices, some people still practice hands-on crafts.

“We have all ages (come into the store), down to probably about seven or eight,” said Village Needlework owner Joan Ackerman. “We’ve had some classes in conjunction with the (Marion) library, and we’ve been able to attract a lot of kids.”

Sales of books and project patterns have shifted online, but customers still value the know-how and experience of Ackerman and her staff — which is her family.

“They’ll bring in their questions about patterns and things,” she said. “If there’s little tips and tricks I can help them out with, they appreciate that. So they come back.

“Some people order yarns on the internet, but the majority prefer seeing it because you never really know what it’s going to be like.”

Ackerman, 72, and her husband, Steven, purchased the store in 2010, after she retired from the local Campfire Boys and Girls organization. The business had operated in Cedar Rapids’ Czech Village neighborhood for a few years before the 2008 flood.

“We started out just by buying some merchandise of stores that were closing,” Ackerman said. “We had not really planned on carrying yarn, but as we were carrying boxes into the store I had ladies stopping and asking me if we were going to have yarn. We assessed the area, and since I knitted and crocheted we decided we’d add that.

With her daughter and daughter-in-law working at the shop full-time, she expects to teach more classes.

“When we started, neither one of them were knitters or crocheters,” she said. “I told them they had to take the class so they’d know how to help people when they came in. They’re both now avid knitters and crocheters.”

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